Perception of Person's Individual Psychological Features Based on a Whole or Partially Occluded Face Image

Perception adequacy of individual psychological features based upon facial expression was addressed experimentally. The research method involves comparing model's and observer's (respondent's) personality traits, and observer's assessment of model's individual psychological features based upon the expression of his/her face, full or fragmented (partly occluded). Assessment of personality traits was made using transformed 16PF by R. B. Cattell. Respondents were shown photos of two male and two female faces till shoulder girdle en face. Each photo was in five versions: fully open, and displayed upper, lower, right or left side only. Research indicates that in the case of a whole face, expression about 40 % of model's personality traits is assessed correctly. Effectiveness of assessments using right or left halves of model's face coincides and is undistinguishable from the assessments of the whole face photos. Individual psychological features are perceived less accurately when based on the lower face part, and the worst assessments made were based on the upper part. Advantages in accuracy of recognition of separate personality traits based on whole face in relation to fragmented were not found. In all types of occlusions and types of faces optimism and originality were recognized most effectively, and conciseness less effectively. Successful recognition of a whole and fragmented face involves different predictors. Assessment of a full face involves observer's high self)control; of horizontally divided face ) his/her dependence on the group; and of a vertically divided face – weak social contact.

1. Artemtseva N. G. Osobennosti vosprijatija psihologicheskih harakteristik cheloveka po ego "razdelennomu licu". Kand. diss. (Perception of psychological features of a man based on his "divided face". PhD thesis) М., IP RAN, 2003.
2. Barabanschikov V. A. Vosprijatie i sobytie. (Perception and event) SPb.: Aletejja, 2002. 512 s.
3. Barabanschikov V. A., Nosulenko V. N. Sistemnost'. Vosprijatie. Obschenie. (Systems. Perception. Communication.) M.: IP RAN. 2004. 480 s.
4. Barabanschikov V. A., Malkova T. N. Zavisimost' tochnosti identifikacii ekspressii lica ot lokalizacii mimicheskih projavlenij (Dependence of facial expressions identification accuracy om mimic actions localization) // Voprosy psihologii. (Issues of Psychology) 1986. № 5. S.131–40.
5. Barabanschikov V. A., Malkova T. N. Issledovanie vosprijatija jemocional'nogo sostojanija cheloveka po vyrazheniju lica (A study of perception of emotional state of a man based on his facial expression) // Problema obschenija v psihologii. (Communication issue in Psychology) M.: Nauka, 1981. S. 121–132.
6. Byeron R., Birn D., Johnson B. Social'naja psihologija. Kljuchevye idei. (Social Psychology. Key ideas) SPb.: Piter, 2003. 507 s.
7. Bodalev V. M. Psihologija obschenija. (Psychology of communication) M.: Voronezh: APSN, 1996. 255 s.
8. Izard K. Psihologija jemocij. (Psychology of emotions) SPb.: Piter, 2000. 460 s.
9. Labunskaya V. A. Jekspressija cheloveka: obschenie i mezhlichnostnoe poznanie. (Human expressions: communicaton and interpersolal cognition) Rostov-na-Donu: Feniks, 1999. 592 s.
10. Ross L., Nisbett R. Chelovek i situacija. (The person and the situation) M.: Aspekta Press, 1999. 430 s.
11. Fedoseenkova S. M. Vosprijatie individual'no-psihologicheskih osobennostej cheloveka po fotoizobrazheniju ego lica. Dis. … kand. psihol. nauk. (Individual psychological features perception of a man based on his face photo. PhD thesis) M.: IP RAN, 2003.
12. Khrisanfova L. A. Dinamika vosprijatija jekspressij lica. Dis. … kand. psihol. nauk. (Facial expressions perception dynamics. PhD thesis) M.: IP RAN, 2004.
13. Borkenau P., Liebler A. Trait inferences: sources of validity et zero acquaintance // Journal of personality and social psychology. 1992. V. 4. P. 645–658–657.
14. Bruce V., Young A. In the eye of beholder. The science of face perception. N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2000. 280 p.
15. Carey S., Diamond R. Are faces percieves as configurations more by adults then by children? // Visual cognition. 1994. V. 1. P. 253–274.
16. Cook S. W. The judgment of intelligence from photographs // Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 1939. V. 34. P. 384–389.
17. Ekman P. Emotions revealed. N. Y.: An owl book, 2004. 274 p. [Parts of the book on-line]
18. Ekman P., Friesen W. Unmasking the face. N. Y.: Prentice-Hall, 1975. 343 p.
19. Ekman P., Rosenberg E. (eds.) What the face reveals: basic and applied studies of spontaneous expression using the facial action coding system (FACS). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 639 p.
20. Ellis H. D. Face recall: a psychological perspective // Human Learning. 1986. V. 5. P. 189–196.
    Hogg M. (ed.) Social psychology. L.: SAGE, 2002. 1570 p.
21. Izard C.E. Innate and universal facial expressions: Evidence from developmental and cross-cultural research // Psychological Bulletin. 1994. V. 115. P. 228–299.
22. Knapp M., Daly J. (eds.) Handbook of interpersonal communication. L.: SAGA, 2002. 842 p. [Parts of the book on-line]
23. Koffka K. Principles of gestalt psychology. N.Y.: Brace, 1935. 720 p.
24. Leder H., Bruce V. Local and relational aspects of face distinctiveness // Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2000. Vol. 53. P. 513–536.
25. Mc Crae R., Costa P. T. Validation of the five factors model of personality across instruments and observers // Journal of personality and social psychology. 1987. V. 1. P. 81–90.
26. Murray J. E., Rhodes G., Schuchinsky M. When is a face not a face? // A. Peterson, G. Rhodes (eds.)
27. Peterson M. A., Rhodes G. (eds.) Perception of faces, objects, and sciences. N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2003. P. 75–91. [Parts of the book on-line]
28. Penton-Voak I. S., Pound N., Little A. C., Perrett D. I. Personality judgments from natural and composite facial images: more evidence for a “kernel of truth” in social perception // Social cognition. 2006. V. 24.
29. Russell J. A., Fernandez; Dols J. M. (eds.) The psychology of facial expression. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 400 p.
30. Shepherd J. The face and social attribution // Young A., Ellis H. (eds.) Handbook of research on face processing. Amsterdam: North Holland, 1989. P. 289–320.
31. Skinner M., Mullen B. Facial asymmetry in emotional expression: A meta-analysis of research // British Journal of Social Psychology. 1991. V. 30. P. 113–124.
32. Tanaka J. W., Farah M. The holistic representation of face // Perception of faces, objects, and sciences Peterson M. A., Rhodes G. (eds.) Oxford: Oxford university press, 2003. P. 53–74.
33. Yin R. Looking at upside down faces // Journal of Experimental Psychology. 1969. V. 81. P. 141–145.
34. Young A. W., Hellawell D., Hay D. C. Configurational information in face perception // Perception. 1987. V. 16. P. 747–759.
35. Yovel G., Paller K., Levy J. A whole face is more than the sum of its halves: interactive processing in face perception // Visual cognition. 2005. V. 12. P. 337–352.